Local Expert Says RGIII Injury Is A Delicate Situation

Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is looked at by team trainers after being injured against the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth quarter of the NFC Wild Card playoff game (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- Robert Griffin III, also known as RG3 injured tore his ACL in college. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) runs through the center of the joint and it critical to stabilize front and back motion.

RG3 also suffered a sprain to the lateral collateral ligament, the LCL, earlier in this season.

Dr. Wisotzky says, "Anytime there is an old injury it confuses the picture, it makes things more complicated. It's an interesting situation here because we've become more reliant on technology and this is an example where the MRI may not be exactly clear and his doctor, Dr. Andrews, wants to use our old fashioned methods which is doing a physical exam."

The exam will hopefully give a clearer picture of the condition of RG3's knee. Dr. Wisotzky says the true extent of the injury isn't 100 percent clear until the player is in the operating room.

He describes these guys as "super-human" in their ability to heal and return to peak performance a lot faster than most individuals.

Dr. Wisotzky says, "It's highly variable, we're not talking about your average weekend warriors, we are talking about your superheros of the NFL here. Some of them do seem to heal more quickly than we would imagine, such as Adrian Peterson of the Vikings came back from an ACL injury very, very quickly this year so it is hard to say."

Still, as many second-guess why the franchise player was still in the game after clearly struggling, Dr. Wisotzky says it's an agonizing decision under pressure.

Dr. Wisotzky says, "I wouldn't necessarily want to be in their shoes, i'm sure it's a challenging situation for everyone involved. But the bottom line is that it's very complicated, if you come into my office with an injury, it's not very complicated. We work through and get you back to your function."

Dr. Wisotzky adds, "For these athletes, there's millions of dollars at stake. Everyone in the world is watching, the player wants to play, the coach wants to win. The medical staff is caught somewhere in between so it can get very, very complicated and make these decisions very difficult.